Loose cannons

John Howard's One Nation Party

"A lot of people are actually saying that I'm John Howard's adviser because he's picking up a lot of the policies and issues that I have raised and spoken about over the years". — Pauline Hanson, October 14.

Significant emotional experience event

"An officer aboard USS Carl Vinson, from where many of the planes that are bombing Afghanistan have been launched, said the 900-kilogram bomb that went astray [flattening the village of Khorum and killing at least 100 civilians] would be 'a significant emotional experience event for anyone within a square mile'." — Sydney Morning Herald, October 15.

Leaves more tax dollars to spend on bombing them

"The American Red Cross is making sure that every dollar raised by the boys and girls of America is spent on the needy boys and girls in Afghanistan." — George the Crusader, speaking about "America's Fund for Afghan Children" at the American Red Cross headquarters, Washington, October 17.

Humanitarian aid

"Two US bombs hit a warehouse operated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the centre of the Afghan capital on Tuesday [October 16], prompting a furious reaction from officials who said it was clearly a civilian facility. Rescue workers and Afghan ICRC employees raced to try to put out the blaze with fire extinguishers, but at least 35% of the food and other equipment stored at the facility were destroyed, witnesses and officials said." — October 17 Reuters dispatch from Islamabad.

Like the US military

"Evil knows no borders." — George "The Crusader" Bush, en route to the APEC summit in Shanghai.

From GLW issue 468